U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed concerns about possible human rights abuses in Iran and urged the country to do more to combat discrimination against women and minorities.
While praising Tehran for strides made in fields such as education and the provision of health services, Ban used a new report on human rights in Iran to list a number of areas where progress was needed.
One of the minority groups suffering discrimination in Iran was the Baha''i community, Ban said.
Baha''is regard their faith''s 19th-century founder as the latest in a line of prophets including Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad. Iran''s Shi''ite religious establishment considers the faith a heretical offshoot of Islam.
Baha''is say hundreds of their followers have been jailed and executed since Iran''s 1979 Islamic revolution. Tehran denies it has detained or executed people for their religion.
The Baha''i faith originated in Iran and claims 5 million adherents worldwide, including 300,000 or more in Iran.
There have also been reports of "an increase in rights violations against women, university students, teachers, workers and other activist groups," Ban said in the report, which was issued to all 192 U.N. member states.
Tajikistan decreases the foreign manpower quota for this year
The risk of border conflicts over resources is growing in Central Asia, says CSTO secretary-general
A citizen of Tajikistan accused of justifying a Crocus City Hall terror attack
All relatives of Faridoun Shamsiddin in Tajikistan taken away and his sister deported from Russia
Uzbekistan puts mosaic panels on the list of cultural heritage sites
Foreign companies' losses from exiting Russia market reportedly exceed 107 billion US dollars
Russia to set up a state-owned operator for the organized recruitment of labor migrants
Tajikistan has to use alternative energy sources more actively in support of hydropower
Central Asian labor migrants working in Russia face fury and raids
The death toll in the Krasnogorsk concert hall attack rises to 143
All news
Авторизуйтесь, пожалуйста